Wagering game terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such terminals among players depends on the perceived likelihood of winning money at the terminal and the intrinsic entertainment value of the terminal relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing terminals and the expectation of winning each terminal is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the more entertaining and exciting terminal. Consequently, wagering game terminal operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting terminals available because such terminals attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability for the operators.
One concept that is often employed in the gaming industry is the use of progressive games. A “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating wagering game terminals (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating wagering game terminal. If the wagering game terminal is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the wagering game terminals without winning the jackpot. Further, when several wagering game terminals are linked together such that several players compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement.
Another concept that has been successfully employed is a secondary or “bonus” game played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may include any type of game, either similar to or entirely different from the basic game, and is initiated by the occurrence of certain pre-selected events or outcomes in the basic game. The addition of such a bonus game has been found to produce a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game alone because it provides an additional chance to play, which increases the player's overall expectation of winning.
In existing wagering game terminals, the bonus games are usually limited to a particular bonus game, or if multiple bonus games are available, the wagering game terminal usually selects the bonus game for the player. Further, the bonus games tend to be static or fixed such that the players can eventually complete every aspects of the games after a while. Thus, in the highly competitive wagering game terminal industry, there is a continuing need to develop new types of games, or improvements to existing games, that will enhance the entertainment value and excitement associated with the games in order to increase play. Allowing the players to select the bonus game and/or a group of bonus games and/or various aspects of the bonus games would provide more player excitement and enjoyment and, therefore, would increase play. Play would be further increased if the bonus game and/or a group of bonus games and/or various aspects of the bonus games were provided in the form of new games, or updates to existing games, that are downloaded from a central location, either as needed or according to a predetermined schedule.